January 2015

The Guardian

Monthly Newsletter of John Paul the Great Academy

Upcoming Events

John Paul the Great Academy is a small, Catholic, college preparatory school that preserves and promotes the sacred traditions of the Roman Catholic Church

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From the Headmaster

CLASSICAL EDUCATION & THE PURSUIT OF TRUTH

Omnia in Excellentia

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We are excited to announce that, for the 2015-16 school year, we expect to have waiting lists in every grade but fourth. We have grown steadily towards our goal of two sections of 15-18 students in grades pre-K through twelfth grade.

From the beginning, our commitment to classical education has played no small role in attracting wonderful families to our young school. Classical education is the cultivation of wisdom through the study of, and indeed an immersion in all that is true, good, and beautiful. Just weeks ago, at our annual nativity production, we were reminded of just how much our children embody these ideals of truth, goodness, and beauty. And sometimes we need this reminding. We live in a world that rejects truth, mocks goodness, and makes beauty a commodity. We pray, however, that our school can serve as a beacon of hope, that it will serve to heal and renew our culture and to restore the Christian understanding of the human person. This is also why, at John Paul the Great Academy, we put so much energy into thinking about the culture of our school. We work hard to foster a love of truth and the virtues essential to the pursuit of truth: a reflective and patient mind, a sense of curiosity and creativity, a love of learning, and an attraction to the joy of discovery. Our students must learn that our minds were not made

Our Angels & Sheep at the Nativity Presentation

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for skepticism, boredom, and a life of endless media consumption. Our minds were made for truth, for inquiry, and for discovery. They were made to grow, to learn, to seek, and to find. As teachers and parents, our efforts to educate our children are rooted in our knowledge that they are made in the image of God, who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

We dare not take for granted a school culture so rich in intellectual life. Classical education is not just a way of describing our teaching methods. Classical education is an ideal for which we strive, an ideal of human excellence that pervades everything we do here at JPG.

With waiting lists becoming the new reality for our school, we are now at a crossroads. We need to add a few more students in each class to split these classes and welcome those children on waiting lists who hope to attend JPG next year. Please pray about inviting those families you think would benefit from our unique classical, Catholic school.

Jan 7 Classes Resume Mandatory Parent Meeting

Jan 10 State Soccer Tournament JPG Debate Tournament

Jan 14 High School - Silent Retreat Jan 15 Open House Jan 18-23 March for Life Pilgrimage Jan 18 No School

Martin Luther King Day Jan 23 No School - Faculty Work Day Feb 6 First Friday Mass

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January 2015

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CAMPUS LIFE

1. 2015-2016 Re-enrollment - Forms are due January 15 and fees are due January 31. You can sign up online by visiting the JPG website, clicking on the Parents Tab. Remember, no tuition is collected in January to allow for re-enrollment fees. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Tiffany Myers in the business office.

2. Bleachers for Guardians! Thanks to the students and countless supporters who made our bleachers fundraiser a success. We raised over $8,000 and exceeded our goal! So far, we have purchased six sections of bleachers, new lights, and are working on a plan to provide better flooring, improved restrooms, and greater air flow in the gym. Once we get the final costs of the rest of the improvements, we will be able to share how close we are to completing all parts of the important project.

3. Open House! Please invite friends and family members who would like to experience the daily life of our wonderful school. On January 15, we will have two presentations at 10:00am and 1:00pm.

SPIRITUAL FORMATION

4. High School Silent Retreat – Wednesday, January 14, 8:00-Noon. The 8-12 grade students will be enjoying their second silent retreat of the year. Sr. Miriam James Heidland of the SOLT Sisters will be leading the retreat, which will conclude with Holy Mass offered by Fr. Garrett McIntyre. This is a very important opportunity for our students to experience conversion of heart and a renewed openness to the Catholic faith. Please consider praying specifically for our high school students on the morning of January 14, offering up a holy hour, rosary, personal sacrifice, or other devotional prayer. Thanks in advance for praying for our students.

5. March for Life - January 18-23. For the fourth consecutive

year, John Paul the Great Academy will lead a pilgrimage to Washington D.C. to take a stand for life. This life changing experience is deeply rooted in our mission to serve the new evangelization and to build a culture of love and life in America. A bus load of students, religious sisters, and seminarians will join Fr. Garrett McIntyre as we travel to the Mother House of the Nashville Dominicans, Christendom College, the Holocaust Museum, the U.S. Capitol, the Dominican House of Studies at Catholic University, the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, and of course the March itself.

6. Marriage Made for Heaven – Please join us! Our program

is scheduled to meet on January 17 at 6:00 pm in the refectory. Please contact Cindy Marcantel at cmarcantel@jpgacademy.org if you will be attending. We look forward to seeing you there!

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ACADEMICS

7. Speech & Debate – The Guardian Speech & Debate team has a busy January. First, we are hosting our own tournament on Saturday, January 10. This is an excellent opportunity to have students from other schools see our beautiful campus. We're always in need of volunteers to judge, food donations and assistance on the day of the event, so please contact Mrs. Mahan (DMahan@JPGAcademy.org) if you are able to help. Additionally, students will be competing at the St. Thomas More tournament (Jan 16-17) and St. Frederick High School competition in Monroe (Jan 23 & 24). Please continue to pray for our Guardians as they work to defend all that is True, Good and Beautiful in the public square. Thank you for your support!

8. Pre-K Cooking! In December, the Pre-K classes made

gingerbread man cookies as a part of their theme work for the month. After the children mixed and rolled out the dough, they cut out the gingerbread men. The cookies baked and cooled while they were at recess. After recess, the children excitedly came back into the classroom, iced a cookie, and ate it. There were enough cookies for everyone to have a second one but it was getting close to Mass time and they had yet to clean up and go to the restroom.

Mrs. George suggested that instead of eating those extra cookies, they could give them away to faculty and staff at our school so that they could practice the virtue of the month, generosity. They reluctantly agreed. After Mass, Mrs. Amy and Mr. Fletcher were in the hallway and were the first two recipients of the children's generosity. Their reluctance instantly turned to pure joy as they shared the cookies that they themselves had made and had truly enjoyed! This joy continued for the remainder of the day as they eagerly gave away the cookies one by one. They gave without counting the cost and received so much in